Evidence that rubber stall mats are actually beneficial to the horse's health?

[morganpony86]

I guess just what the title asks. Anyone know of any literature that says rubber stall mats are beneficial over dirt floors?

I already have them installed in my stalls (just finished this past weekend) and decided to do it for various reasons, including the perceived benefit of a softer cushion for my boys. But now I’m looking for evidence that says that it’s beneficial. I have an old gelding who lays down a lot because of an old injury and I installed these floors specifically for him. I guess I’m just wondering if anything out there confirms what I thought, that this’ll provide a better floor for him. This is assuming I’m still using the same amount of bedding.

[goodhors]

I go at it from a cleanliness point. Rubber mats are easier to clean, get everything up off the floor, summer and winter. Keeps the protective layer of mat from letting floor get holes or uneven. This means horse is standing and laying on a dry layer, if using a good amount of bedding. Floor is level to let him stand evenly, not up and down hill in holes. I can clean the mat, sweep up everything, no urine wetness left like with dirt floors. No frozen spots that are uncleanable for him to lay on come winter. Mat insulates him from floor cold sucking body heat, along with bedding layer padding, should horse want to lay down in the cold times.

I have only had one barn I rented with a dirt floor and I hated it. Could NOT keep the floor leveled or clean, with everything freezing to the dirt.

I would rather clean cement and double the bedding bill, than fight cleaning dirt floors, especially in winter. Even wood plank floors are better than dirt, though they do need replacing if horses are shod and wear down the wood. Finally getting our own barn, we got rubber mats and enjoy the benefits they give our stalled horses and ESPECIALLY the easy stall cleaning.

I know of no actual study of floor mat advantages, but there must be something out there. People LOVE doing studies.

Almost no one keeps horses on dirt floors anymore after they have used stall mats!

Congrats on your newly matted stalls.

[Hermein]

Dirt floors suck, imo, and I ought to know as that’s what most of mine are. Dusty. Muddy if you have a horse that pees in his stall. Uneven. Probably contributes to sand/dirt colic. OTOH, people have been using them for a zillion years.

I have two stalls that have concrete floors and both are matted; one with the interlocking mats (wonderful). I’m in the process of putting 2 x 6 planking in the rest of the stalls. I will bed the wooden floors with sawdust.

[deltawave]

Evidence is sorely lacking on so many horse husbandry questions. We’re really left to use our best judgement.

I like mats if they are level and keep ruts and holes to a minimum. I don’t like them so much if they are slippery or contribute to nasty, stinky wet spots. The latter of course is a matter of cleaning the stall frequently.

I’m skeptical that “cushion” is a cut-and-dry “good thing” for horses. They are not designed by nature to be cushioned, really. It is a little bit anthropomorphic, IMO, to assume they benefit from soft and squishy just because WE might be more comfortable with that sort of surface underfoot.

In the end? We make the best choices we can and accept that many things are simply custom and preference.

[Calvincrowe]

What Deltawave said! They contribute to a clean, level place to confine horses. Softer? Perhaps. Is softer and cleaner necessary? I think so, especially if the horse is stuck in 144 square feet of space for 12 or more hours, standing in its own urine and feces. Horses don’t need soft, squishy places to rest naturally–heck, watch horses turned out 24/7. Yes, they’ll pick sand or softer dirt to roll in, but sleep takes place in unlikely locations.

[SAcres]

My QH stocked up every night when he was on dirt floors, he never stocks up on stonedust/mats.

I mostly like mats from a practical standpoint. No leveling floors, no gross muddy pee spots, etc etc.

[morganpony86]

I suppose I’ll have to dig around and see if there is anything out there in terms of literature.
Yes, I am incredibly glad I finally got the rest of the stalls matted from a cleanliness standpoint. The shavings aren’t dusty & moldy within 24 hours!

[QUOTE=deltawave;7141866]

I’m skeptical that “cushion” is a cut-and-dry “good thing” for horses. They are not designed by nature to be cushioned, really. It is a little bit anthropomorphic, IMO, to assume they benefit from soft and squishy just because WE might be more comfortable with that sort of surface underfoot. :)[/QUOTE]

I agree in general, however the horse who lays down ~8-10 hours/day has been on mats since his injury. I brought him home a few months ago to a dirt-floor stall (more like concrete, really, as it was hard clay) and within a couple months both of his carpi blew up with effusion. Vet and I concluded it was from hitting the hard ground over and over again without the cushion of mats. So we’re hoping this will help him out a bit.

[Texarkana]

I wish I had a citation, but I recall reading an article once that well-maintained dirt floors are actually preferable over mats for horses from a biomechanical standpoint.

When the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center designed their orthopedic wing, it was designed with dirt floors for that reason. Unfortunately it was impractical from a biosecurity standpoint and had to be changed.

However, from a husbandry standpoint, mats prevent holes and uneven floors. And mats may make a bit more hygenic living situation. Both of which are important for the overall health of the horse.

[BuddyRoo]

One component of mats vs dirt can be dust. With dirt floors, urine can be absorbed right into the ground so fluffier types of bedding (like straw) can be used without dusty absorptive bedding like shavings. The dust from shavings can have some negative health benefits so a horse that may already have heaves or similar may have issues. And in my experience, you pretty much have to use finer shavings when you have rubber mats (unless they’re the flow through) else you have wet slippery spots.

All that said, I still like rubber mats for MY benefit–less waste of shavings, easier to keep level, easier to clean, etc etc.

For the horse though? I’m not so sure–if the option is dirt vs mat there may not be major benefits to the horse either way. Now if we’re talking concrete flooring? Absolutely mats.

[ReSomething]

Just anecdotal, but I like the mats for my old guy, with the vague founder symptoms, just to stand on as a resilient surface.

[poltroon]

The other factor is bedding. Some people use mats as an excuse not to have bedding, or to have just a very thin layer, and I’m not a fan of that practice.

When my horses have been stalled on dirt floors, they’ve also had a deep bed of banked shavings.

[rcloisonne]

[QUOTE=deltawave;7141866]
I’m skeptical that “cushion” is a cut-and-dry “good thing” for horses.[/QUOTE]
Me too. I think there is actual evidence it’s bad for their overall soundness if they spend too much time in a “soft stall”. However, it has been my observation that they tend to lay down/sleep more in well bedded, matted stalls than they do when they’re outside on hard ground.

[newhorsemommy]

Mats can be more comfortable for a horse with laminitis than a hard ground surface, and they are definitely beneficial as far as sand colic goes, because they can be swept clean to keep the horse from ingesting dirt/sand.

[Ridge_Runner]

I am of the school of thought that a harder surface to stand on is actually healthier for most horses. Granted a horse with laminitis or arthritis or something might be the exception but soft ground does not promote good hoof health. Some horses spend quite a lot of time in a stall so that has to have some effect over time.

I also have seen a lot of mats situations where moisture/urine gets under the mats and leads to some awful odors and nastiness. As a straw person, I generally prefer dirt floors.

[saultgirl]

[QUOTE=Daydream Believer;7143438]
I am of the school of thought that a harder surface to stand on is actually healthier for most horses. Granted a horse with laminitis or arthritis or something might be the exception but soft ground does not promote good hoof health. Some horses spend quite a lot of time in a stall so that has to have some effect over time.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this train of thought and I seem to remember reading some kind of study that talked about it being healthier for the horse to stand on a harder surface, because when there is too much “give” in the floor, the frog doesn’t do it’s job pumping the blood up the horse’s legs. So a firmer floor was better for circulation.

I’ve never actually kept a horse on a dirt floor (unless you count my horses who live outside with a turnout shelter); every barn I’ve boarded at has had either concrete with rubber mats, wood floors, or the “softstall”. The softstall flooring was just gross because only a handfull of bedding was ever used.

[Ridge_Runner]

saultgirl…I live in an area with soft sandy footing that is often damp or even seriously wet. It is a real challenge to keep hooves healthy…I trim/shoe. Anyway, I have friends who moved here from places like Ohio who say they’ve never seen their horses hooves chip up and crack as much as they do here. The combined effect of the soft ground and moisture can really bring on a lot of problems. Even using Keratex to help protect the hooves, we have major problems with some of the thinner walled horses.

Add to that the folks who keep horses in stalls on matted floors when they are not out on soft pasture; and I’ve seen some seriously soft hooves and IMO, the problem is magnified. Inside is not a bad idea here (within reason) as it can help the hooves dry out but for the horse to never have any firm ground to stand on cannot be good for them.

With our EPIC pasture grass this year and very wet weather, I’m about to build some paddock paradises for some of our riding horses and the “fatties.” I can’t think of any other way to keep their feet dry and healthy as well as control their grass intake. Even my small paddocks are lush.

[RAyers]

The whole “cleanliness” thing is also a bit of a fallacy. When the vets schools were having issues with salmonella infections, one of the routes was the rubber mats. The bacteria are able to get refuge in the deep pores of the matts, well away from any disinfectants and grow, only to come out at unanticipated times. I believe CSU got rid of rubber mats and went to a sand base in their stalls to reduce contamination from horse to horse.

When my old guy contracted salmonella poisoning, we stripped out the mats to be sure there was no transference of the bacteria to the next stall occupant.

My horses at home have a choice between two stalls with mats and two with dirt floors and then pastures. The horses sleep in the grass/dirt out in the pastures and stand in the stalls during the heat of the day. In my experience, rubber mats are more for the owner’s convenience than the horse’s.

[rcloisonne]

[QUOTE=RAyers;7143953]
My horses at home have a choice between two stalls with mats and two with dirt floors and then pastures. The horses sleep in the grass/dirt out in the pastures and stand in the stalls during the heat of the day. In my experience, rubber mats are more for the owner’s convenience than the horse’s.[/QUOTE]
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing that.

[HorsePrerace]

Your horse is on his feet most of the day and night. He prefers to feel dry, with his feet at room temperature. He wants to stand on a surface that’s resilient and doesn’t smell bad. I would use rubber mats for sure. :yes:

[Amwrider]

I have horses that get sore on rubber mats. My horses are on dirt floors and I will tell you that I am not having to feed joint supplements like I used to. My horses are sounder on the dirt floors than they have been on the rubber mats.

Dirt with bedding on it is ALWAYS going to be softer than mats with bedding.

I only have a couple of stalls that get wet mush pits and those are just horses that are big drinker/pissers.